Gig Review: Harry Lyon @ Galatos, Auckland

14 Oct 2018 // A review by Alex Moulton

A typical New Zealand spring week was coming to an end, and the weather
was all over the place; tepid air, disrupted by short, icy bursts of rain. But
the cold shards of precipitation weren’t enough to keep people away, and as soon
as doors opened, smartly dressed music fans began to flood in. There was much
chatter and smiles among the crowd as the venue greeted them with an almost
lounge setup, with tables, chairs and candlelight filling much of the room. It
wasn’t long before the seats were taken up by the early birds, and the rest of
the patrons began to pack in at the bar.

The opening act for the night came in the form of The Bads duo, Brett
Adams and Dianne Swann. Sporting a very simple setup that consisted of two
guitars and two microphones, they started their set with Helensville, from their 2008 album So Alive. Their style encapsulates many different genres,
incorporating sludge rock and country, which would deviate closer to folk if
the rest of the band were playing. But with only the duo on stage, their set
had a much more relaxed and tranquil vibe.

Brett was still brandishing the technical
competency and proficiency that has had him working with Tim Finn and Gin
Wigmore, with a very clean acoustic lead. Dianne holds more of the country
vibe with her acoustic rhythm guitar providing the “twang”. With the visual
look of The White Stripes, The Bads capture your imagination with brilliant
control of their instruments tweaking harmonics and feedback to create exquisite
ambient soundscapes. Without any form of drums or percussion, the set was unhurried
and floated along, as they performed tracks from Travel Light and their latest release Losing Heroes. Completing their short seven song set, they made way
for the headlining act.

9:00pm came along and Harry Lyon stepped up on stage with his band.
And what an extensive band that appeared to be. With Harry on the guitar and
vocals, he was surrounded by a myriad of musicians; Tony Waine on bass guitar, Stephen
Small on the keys, Josh Sorenson on the drum kit, and Jimmy Taylor on lead guitar,
three backing singers, and even a trombone player coming out later for a song.

Whether
the presence of a drummer, of the animated performance from Jimmy Taylor, From
the first notes played, there was an instant injection of energy, and within
moments, you can see heads in the audience start nodding along to the rhythm. The
vitality of the musicians on stage was extraordinary, and surpassed performance
I’ve seen by many bands that are 50 years junior to Harry and his cohorts. It
speaks immeasurably to the experience and passion of these artists, and their
banter mirrored their performance eliciting laughs from the audience between tracks
while they tweaked their tuning and swapped instruments.

Being a tour promoting
Harry Lyon’s first solo album, To The Sea,
it is expected that the setlist would focus on those tracks, and he started off
the night with One For The Road. Harry
consistently keeps up the banter as they play through Baby Don’t Stop and Dance Me
To Hell And Back (a track that has an intro distinctly to the style of The
Strokes). Whether it be dedications to his wife who was home looking after the
grandkids, talking about having kids living overseas, or getting the crowd to
singalong during I’m Surrounded, Harry
and the band ensure the audience remain engaged from start to finish.

Their
sound had that distinctive classic rock sound infused with a heavy dose of funk
and blues. After suggesting the crowd make use of the space up front on several
occasions, during Dance Me To Hell And Back,
they finally obliged, and for the next few songs there were several couples
dancing to their hearts content. As the set progressed, the energy started to
lull, as everyone began to save their energy for the final tracks.

Harry Lyon being the only remaining member of Hello Sailor, the first
band to have an album certified gold in New Zealand, the crowd were clearly excited by the prospect of a mix of Hello Sailor tracks being inserted into the
setlist, such as 1977 hit, Latin Lover.
Ending the main set with the titular track from his album To The Sea, the crowd waited in anticipation, and the wait certainly
paid off. Three songs made it into the encore performance, but most notable,
and crowd favourites came from Gutter
Black (synonymous with the Outrageous Fortune television series) and of
course Blue Lady.

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